The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
EP 1 510 276 A1 describes a plate divider-system with two advancing devices meshing into each other. The one advancing device comprises a portal that spans the feed area, which forms the first support of a first advancing device, and on which several first gripping mechanisms are affixed. A lateral carriage forms a second support of a second advancing device, and on this second carriage, a bracket with a plurality of second gripping mechanisms is affixed. The second working width, in which the second gripping mechanism is arranged, thereby overlaps with the first working width, in which the first advancing device, or as the case may be, the first gripping mechanism, is arranged. The first and second advancing device can be moved independently of each other, so that the two advancing devices respectively can simultaneously grip a stack of plates, and feed them to a saw, for example. To ensure that the second advancing device does not obstruct the first advancing device, the gripping mechanisms of the first advancing device can be pivoted upward and out of the way.
A disadvantage of the known plate divider-system is its technical complexity which, on the one hand, results in high maintenance costs and, on the other, is expensive to produce.